Latest news with #MeganEllis
Android Authority
2 days ago
- General
- Android Authority
5 reasons why I switched from Chrome to Brave
Megan Ellis / Android Authority While I've wanted to de-Google my life for some time now, I keep hesitating about switching from Google products to other alternatives. Much of this is down to habit rather than there being no better options available, especially when it comes to my smartphone browser. But eventually, my grievances with Chrome on Android went past the usual privacy concerns, and I finally decided to make the switch to Brave instead. Since moving over to Brave, I've found that it was definitely the right choice for a number of reasons. What is the most important feature for a mobile browser? 0 votes Privacy protection. NaN % Ad-blocking. NaN % Accessibility features. NaN % Extension support. NaN % Something else (let us know in the comments). NaN % 1. The ability to force dark mode Megan Ellis / Android Authority Dark mode is an accessibility feature for me, since it's one of the ways I prevent my smartphone from triggering my chronic migraines. While Chrome has dark mode, you have to rely on extensions to force dark mode on web pages that don't support it. Since the mobile version of Chrome doesn't support extensions, this means I frequently encountered websites with a light theme while browsing on my smartphone. This is one of the first things that pushed me away from Chrome on my smartphone. I tried out a few of the best Android browsers, including Opera and Firefox, but I eventually settled on Brave. While the feature is still marked as experimental in Brave's settings, I haven't found any issues while using it. Sites load with a black background, and I haven't come across annoying issues like image colors being inverted or QR codes not showing correctly. 2. Brave's built-in ad blocker Megan Ellis / Android Authority Now, as a journalist, I understand the need for websites to run ads. But as an internet user, I know first-hand how the experience of many sites has degraded over the years — making some sites completely unusable. I used to frequently come across ads that took up more than half of my screen. I used to frequently come across ads that took up more than half of my screen, meaning that I could only read a few sentences at a time. Other times, the ads blocked important elements on the page. That's why Brave's built-in ad blocker appeals to me. It not only blocks intrusive ads but also other trackers that are used to build a browser fingerprint. At the same time, I can whitelist specific sites if I want to allow them to serve ads. Technically, you can block intrusive ads in the Chrome app, but the setting is a bit buried if you don't know where to look. It also relies on Chrome to correctly identify which ads are intrusive, which I don't really trust Google to do. 3. A reduced need for extensions Megan Ellis / Android Authority Because Brave's mobile browser has essential features built in, I don't need to rely as much on extensions. While browser extensions are a useful way to add extra functionality to your browser of choice, they also pose security and privacy risks — especially if they have access to sensitive permissions. While browser extensions are a useful way to add extra functionality to your browser of choice, they also pose risks. Even on desktop, I don't rely on many Chrome extensions; I mainly use Dark Reader to force dark mode and uBlock Origin Lite. As much as I love these extensions, I always worry about the data they have access to and if that could become compromised by a malicious actor. But Brave covers these features by having them built right into the browser. Brave even includes a firewall and VPN, however these are paid features. It also has a built-in translation tool and an AI assistant. While I personally avoid generative AI features on my smartphone, I'm glad that Brave offers privacy-focused alternatives to major services. 4. The availability of a unique search engine Megan Ellis / Android Authority When I saw that Brave offers its own search engine, I was a bit skeptical. After all, the last time I gave Bing a chance, it paled in comparison to Google Search. At the same time, Google's search results have become worse over time — loaded with AI hallucinations, sponsored links, irrelevant shopping links, and YouTube videos. At first, I wasn't impressed that Brave also uses AI to provide overviews for search results. But I actually found that Brave's AI overviews are more accurate than Google's, while also providing more citations. For example, when I search for whether migraines are a Prescribed Minimum Benefit (PMB) in South Africa, Brave correctly identifies that they aren't. Google, on the other hand, claims that migraines are covered under these benefits. I know from experience, and my neurologist, that Brave is correct. I find Brave's results are more focused and include higher quality sites in general. But even with more accurate AI summaries, I prefer to look at the results myself to verify any summaries. I find Brave's results more focused and include higher-quality sites in general. At the same time, I still get access to useful search widgets like currency conversions. I occasionally find that the search engine struggles with local results, but overall, I'm happy to use it as a Google Search replacement for most tasks. It also has the occasional sponsored link, but I've found these are much rarer compared to Google's results. 5. More control over privacy and experience settings Megan Ellis / Android Authority Besides providing more privacy-related features and built-in features than Chrome, I also like the fact that I can significantly tweak many of these settings in Brave. For example, if you don't want AI summaries in search, you can disable the feature. In Chrome on Android, however, you're stuck with these summaries unless you use a workaround to avoid AI Overviews or add '-ai' to the search query. While Brave enables a variety of privacy-focused features by default, you can adjust these according to your preferences. For example, you can choose to block JavaScript on the sites you visit — though I personally haven't done this because it can break some sites. You can also choose to block social media embeds, like embedded posts from Facebook and LinkedIn. While you can remove the site permission for JavaScript in Chrome's settings, blocking social media embeds is not available in the browser's privacy settings. There's also no way to directly block browser fingerprinting. Brave's media tab allows you to adjust the experience for YouTube. For example, I can choose to block distracting elements and recommended content on YouTube. I can even block YouTube Shorts. But these features don't exist in Chrome's settings. I still have to take the time to truly customize my experience on Brave, but I've already disabled certain elements like the Brave Rewards icon and sponsored images on my new tab page. This level of customization has proved incredibly useful. While I wasn't sure if I could truly break away from Chrome on my smartphone, Brave has made the transition easier than expected. This is thanks to its rich customization and variety of built-in features. So far, I don't regret the move at all.
Android Authority
6 days ago
- Business
- Android Authority
These are the 5 phone features I think are overrated
Joe Maring / Android Authority Flagship smartphones are the best that a manufacturer has to offer, with these devices including premium hardware and innovative features. While some brands seem to be resting on their laurels, others continue to provide consumers with inventive updates that draw more loyal fans. But not all features are created equal — and some are definitely more about selling products than providing a good user experience. Having spent years testing out different devices from a variety of brands, I've decided that the following features are mostly overrated… What flagship smartphone feature do you think is the most overrated? 0 votes 100MP+ camera lenses. NaN % Generative AI features. NaN % More than 12GB of RAM. NaN % 8K video recording. NaN % 4K displays. NaN % Other (specify in the comments). NaN % 1. 100MP+ lenses Megan Ellis / Android Authority I used to make the mistake of thinking that a higher resolution usually resulted in a better camera experience. However, the era of smartphone cameras featuring 100MP or higher resolution lenses (including some camera lenses with 200MP) and my experience using them has thoroughly debunked this notion. While some of the best camera phones feature these high resolution lenses, there's a lot more that determines a photo's quality than simply the raw megapixel value. HDR support, light sensitivity, optical zoom, and sensor size all contribute to the quality of a photo. Then there's the post-processing that smartphones apply to these images. There's a lot more that determines a photo's quality than simply the raw megapixel value. I've found that high resolution lenses have improved over the years, but many companies slap these onto their flagship smartphones as a marketing gimmick. My own S23 Ultra features a 200MP lens — and I rarely ever switch to this resolution. This is mainly due to the trade-offs that come with these lenses. For example, when I switch to the 200MP lens on my smartphone, I can no longer zoom into the subject. You could argue that a higher resolution lens allows you to crop to zoom into the subject of the photo. But I've often found strange artifacts in the image when cropping to zoom. I also find that images I take with high resolution lenses are less saturated and lack as much contrast, leading to a duller photo overall. The reality is that most of us use the default shooting mode on our smartphones. So I'd take a capable 50MP lens with a good sensor and zoom capabilities over the super high resolution lenses that I seldom use on smartphones. It's one of the reasons the Samsung S25 Edge is unappealing for me — limited to only two lenses, Samsung opted for a 200MP lens and a 12MP lens. There is also no telephoto camera. 2. Generative AI Megan Ellis / Android Authority AI is essential when it comes to smartphone features — algorithms power image processing, hardware optimization, and other important software features. But the recent wave of generative AI features are mostly unhelpful in my opinion and I've rarely come across people who use them. As a result, I mostly avoid generative AI features on my smartphone. The features are usually unhelpful at best and inaccurate at worst. There was the occasional instance where I was excited to try out a generative AI feature. For example, I looked forward to trying out Samsung AI's Interpreter. But the tool proved underwhelming due to its limited support for languages I use. When I tried to see if it could correctly detect what I was saying in Mandarin by using simple phrases, the translations were inaccurate. Generative AI also comes with privacy trade-offs, but some models allow you to use on-device AI. Though you should note that by opting for this privacy setting, you actually lose out on other AI features. For example, Samsung doesn't allow me to use the AI feature that summarizes transcripts from voice recordings without turning off the option to only process data on my device. 3. More than 12GB of RAM Robert Triggs / Android Authority Many brands have started to push past 12GB of RAM, with many flagships now including 16GB or even 24GB of RAM. For me, 12GB has been a good balance for me when it comes to most tasks such as gaming and multi-tasking. In fact, I'd argue that for most people, 8GB of RAM is more than enough and that 12GB is mostly for those doing performance-heavy tasks such as video editing. Past this amount, it feels like brands are just increasing RAM for the sake of it. Other times, brands inflate their actual RAM allocation by counting virtual RAM as part of it. 12GB has been a good balance when it comes to most tasks such as gaming and multi-tasking. The exception is when the device is being used for many generative AI tasks. But since I don't use generative AI on my phone, I find more than 12GB of RAM to be a bit of an overkill. It's one overrated feature that is mostly implemented for another overrated feature. If you enjoy using the latest AI features, you should make sure your next smartphone has a lot of RAM. However, there's no guarantee that your current smartphone will receive AI features in post-release updates, even if it has enough RAM and a good processor. After all, One UI 7 is missing many features for Galaxy S23 owners. 4. 8K video recording Megan Ellis / Android Authority 8K video recording has been around for some time on flagship smartphones, but it's one of those features that I've rarely seen people use due to its drawbacks. Smartphones that offer 8K video recording usually cap the video's framerate at 30fps, which drastically reduces the quality of the viewing experience. There's also the fact that most of us use displays that don't support an 8K resolution — reducing the overall appetite for this type of content. That said, there may be benefits to downsampling an 8K video to 4K, but that is a niche use case and most people who are very serious about video quality would likely opt for a standalone camera rather than their smartphone. I don't even really use 4K video recording on my smartphones. I don't even really use 4K video recording on my smartphones, even though they both support up to 60fps. This is mostly to save space, as I don't want a simple video of my cat taking up hundreds of megabytes or several gigabytes on my phone. What I would like to see when it comes to video recording on my next flagship smartphone is the ability to shoot video in challenging lighting environments, as this is an area where my videos always fall short. 5. 4K screens Robert Triggs / Android Authority I don't even bother with a 4K screen for my PC or my laptop, so 4K on a smartphone screen is definitely overkill in my opinion. However, this hasn't stopped some manufacturers creating smartphones with this resolution. With most flagship smartphone displays measuring between 6 and 6.9-inches, there isn't much room to let a 4K resolution screen show its sharpness in all its glory. While my S23 Ultra supports a 1440p resolution, I actually use it set to 1080p to increase battery life. This isn't a common flagship feature, but it is one that has appeared over the years — specifically on Sony phones like the Sony Xperia 1 V. But it seems like even Sony has realized that this isn't the hardware specification most flagship users are looking for, with the newer Sony Xperia 1 VI and Xperia 1 VII both including lower resolution displays. I'd much rather that smartphone manufacturers improve displays through HDR support, higher refresh rates, and improved pixel density. Though, with foldable smartphones, especially trifold smartphones, featuring bigger displays; we may see a return to more companies opting for higher resolutions. While I'm sure some people will disagree that a certain feature I find overrated is essential to them, I'd rather have brands focus on real improvements over marketing gimmicks. One area I would like to see some significant improvement in is durability, especially with displays being so expensive to replace nowadays. Many brands could also improve their battery technology and longevity. In fact, I'd love to see faster charging on Samsung's high-end phones.
Android Authority
24-05-2025
- Health
- Android Authority
My smartphone was giving me migraines, so I made these 5 changes
Megan Ellis / Android Authority Around 2022, I was diagnosed with chronic migraines. Unlike normal headaches, migraines come with a variety of neurological symptoms on top of the pain, such as nausea, light and sound sensitivity, and difficulty concentrating. As I took the time to figure out what my migraine triggers were, a few culprits stood out, including the time spent on my smartphone. The bright screen would often trigger migraines or worsen my existing symptoms — so I had to make a few changes to reduce the impact it had. Most of these changes also help reduce eye strain, so you can try them out even if you don't have migraines or headaches from screen use. Since changing these settings and features, I notice my eyes don't twitch after using my screen for long periods of time. But the biggest effect was on my migraine symptoms, with me experiencing fewer migraines triggered by screen use and ensuring I could still use my phone during mild migraines. What do you do to reduce migraines and eye strain from looking at your smartphone? 0 votes I set my phone to dark mode. NaN % I use a warm filter on my screen. NaN % I use a browser that forces dark mode. NaN % I reduce the brightness of my screen. NaN % Other (let us know in the comments!). NaN % 1. Enabling dark mode as the default Megan Ellis / Android Authority While there may be reasons why you might want to avoid dark mode, the feature is essential for me. I used to only use dark mode at night time when I was preparing for bed, but I've now made sure that dark mode is the default mode on all of my devices. In many ways, dark mode has become an accessibility feature for me. In many ways, dark mode has become an accessibility feature for me. Without it, I wouldn't be able to use my device without risking triggering a migraine or making an existing migraine worse. On my Oppo Reno 10 Pro+, I also have the option to set a dark mode style: Enhanced, Medium, or Gentle. Since Enhanced includes the most darkness, with a black background, I opted for this style. Switching over to dark mode on my phone also means that most of my apps are also in this mode. For the few that didn't switch over automatically, I manually toggled dark mode within the app settings. When I set up my S23 Ultra, dark mode was one of the first settings I enabled on my Samsung device. I also apply this mode, as well as other settings, to any device I review. 2. Switching to Eye Comfort mode Megan Ellis / Android Authority Eye Comfort, also known as Eye Protection or Night Light (depending on the exact OS you're using), is a blue light filter available on Android smartphones. I used to use a blue light filter app on my phone, but since Android introduced the ability to customize the filter setting, I can use the feature directly through my smartphone software. I also made sure to toggle Eye Comfort to the default setting, rather than limiting it to certain hours. Meanwhile, I always adjust the temperature to as warm as possible to improve my comfort when experiencing light sensitivity. Since my eyes adjust to this filter, it is not as distracting as it might seem. Since my eyes adjust to this filter, it is not as distracting as it might seem. However, the drawback is that it can affect the color accuracy of images you're viewing. But I prefer this caveat over the alternative of having my phone cause headaches and eye strain. 3. Switching out Chrome with Brave Megan Ellis / Android Authority I've been meaning to make the switch away from Chrome for a while now since I want to be less reliant on Google apps. But the lack of the ability to use my dark mode extension on Chrome's Android app was the final push I needed to stop using the app as my default mobile browser. Instead, I've switched to Brave, which allows me to force dark mode on web pages that use a light theme by default. While many websites support dark mode, there are still a few that only have a light theme. I noticed this the most when reading news or looking up recipes. The feature to force dark mode is available in Brave's Appearance settings, where you can choose to enable night mode.' So far, I haven't encountered any issues with getting sites to deliver a black background and white text, which has made the change to a different browser worthwhile. 4. Manually setting brightness Rushil Agrawal / Android Authority While Adaptive Brightness on Android is useful, I found that my light sensitivity often meant that the brightness my phone automatically set was simply too bright. This is especially a problem at night, when I set my screen to 0% brightness when I'm in bed. The main drawback of this is a slight loss of convenience. When I go outside, my phone screen doesn't automatically adjust, and I have to use muscle memory to turn the brightness back up. But the main benefit is that my phone doesn't automatically turn the brightness back up once I've turned it down. Manually adjusting the brightness has been worth the convenience trade-off. Sometimes I would be using my phone when I started to feel the familiar pain at the back of my eyes, and I'd realize my screen was too bright — but by this time it was already too late, the migraine cascade had started. So, manually adjusting the brightness has been worth the convenience trade-off. 5. Setting my phone to its maximum refresh rate Megan Ellis / Android Authority While most of my changes benefit eye strain in general, this one is a bit more specific to migraines. Motion sensitivity is a common symptom in migraines, and I find that certain motions on my smartphone can make my nausea worse. That's why I always ensure that my display refresh rate is set to my phone's maximum (120Hz). This higher refresh rate reduces stuttering on my screen while scrolling, which in turn helps me not feel as sick from the jittery motion. Of course, increasing my screen's refresh rate doesn't do anything when it comes to watching videos that trigger my motion sensitivity — like videos recorded with a shaky camera. But at least I can easily scroll through my phone's settings and Reddit threads without causing issues (as long as I don't scroll too fast). Making these changes not only reduced my eye strain and light sensitivity but also made my phone much less of a trigger for my migraines. When a migraine does hit, these changes allow me to still use my device when I'm stuck in bed and need to catch up on messages. If you find yourself having a similar experience or experiencing eye strain from screen use, I'd also suggest trying out different ways to reduce the impact of screen use — both on your smartphone and your computer.
Android Authority
23-05-2025
- Android Authority
Google's making it easier to publicly share calendars right from your phone (APK teardown)
Megan Ellis / Android Authority TL;DR Right now, Google Calendar only lets you publicly share calendars via the web, but new mobile support appears to be in the works. When a calendar is public, anyone in the world can see it, and it can be found through Google Search. Users can control what details are visible to the public. Life gets very busy and hectic, which is why having a calendar to manage all of your appointments and events is one of the best things you can do. You're also likely to be a Google Calendar user if you have a Google account and want your calendar accessible from any device. But if you want to share your calendars publicly for certain things, you may have noticed that it's impossible to do unless you're on the web version. Authority Insights story on Android Authority. Discover You're reading anstory on Android Authority. Discover Authority Insights for more exclusive reports, app teardowns, leaks, and in-depth tech coverage you won't find anywhere else. An APK teardown helps predict features that may arrive on a service in the future based on work-in-progress code. However, it is possible that such predicted features may not make it to a public release. But that's changing soon, as we triggered an early look in Google Calendar (version 2025.20.0–760372935-release) that makes it possible for users to publicly share calendars. Prior to this, Google Calendar on Android and iOS, only has an option to share specific calendars with people and groups. If you wanted to make a calendar public, you'd have to use the web version. The web interface for publicly sharing a calendar. The web interface when choosing what event details the public sees. You may be wondering what the difference is between sharing with certain people compared to publicly. When a calendar is publicly shared, it's visible to anyone in the world, and it can even be found through a Google search. But if you share with certain people or groups, only those people can see the calendar. Still, even with a publicly shared calendars, the owner can still control what the public sees: See only free/busy (hide details) Show all event details The toggle for publicly sharing a calendar. Blank permissions popup option when enabling a public calendar on mobile. The option for making a calendar public will show up in the settings inside each calendar that you've created. When the public setting is toggled, a permissions popup should appear with the two aforementioned options. However, we weren't able to see these options just yet, and we can only hypothesize that Google is working on it and will add the relevant code string to do so. Public calendars are handy, but typically has very specific use cases. A public calendar would be useful for things like school events, clubs and organizations, and even in-game events for mobile games and the like. So if you're often having to create public calendars and would rather be able to do so from your phone, this is going to be a welcome feature. Got a tip? Talk to us! Email our staff at Email our staff at news@ . You can stay anonymous or get credit for the info, it's your choice.
Android Authority
16-05-2025
- Android Authority
5 reasons I hate generative AI features on my smartphone
Mishaal Rahman / Android Authority As yearly phone releases have become more iterative for major brands, there is one new area of expansion that is heavily marketed — generative AI features. While AI features have long been important for certain smartphone functions, generative AI is the new frontier that has dominated software talking points for many products. But a lot of the hype may as well be white noise for me, because I rarely actually use generative AI features on my smartphone. In fact, I actively avoid this type of AI whenever I can. Do you use generative AI features on your smartphone? 0 votes Yes, I find them useful in my daily life. NaN % Sometimes, but only for limited tasks. NaN % No, I don't find them useful. NaN % 1. I like to keep my photos realistic Megan Ellis / Android Authority While free chatbots have been the main face of generative AI tools, another place where its prevalent is in image editing and generation features. Tools like Google Photos' Magic Editor and Samsung Galaxy AI's image editing rely on generative AI to produce edits like expanding the background of an image or removing objects. In an era where it's more and more difficult to tell what's real online, I prefer to keep my own images grounded in reality. I can see how some of these features could be useful. But in an era where it's more and more difficult to tell what's real online, I prefer to keep my own images grounded in reality. I will tweak contrast, sharpness, and saturation in my favorite photo editing app Snapseed — but I feel that generative AI blurs reality too much. This is despite having a Google One subscription, which gives me unlimited access to gen AI tools in Photos. I also have a Samsung device that enables AI edits, but I just don't use it. As these tools have become more advanced, my initial curiosity has been replaced by trepidation. 2. Voice models leave out many accents and languages Megan Ellis / Android Authority While I prefer to not use most generative AI tools, this doesn't mean that there isn't the occasional useful feature that seems promising. But in these cases, there are often drawbacks. For example, live translation powered by AI seems like it would be generally useful in cases where you're speaking with someone who speaks another language. Many people will never have access to translation features for a language that they interact with. But the reality is that a feature like this has its limitations. The biggest limitation, in my opinion, is the lack of support for many languages and specific accents. This limitation means that many people will never have access to translation features for a language that they interact with. When a language is supported, the regional accent may not be. This then affects the accuracy of transcriptions and translations. For example, the only local South African language that Samsung Galaxy AI supports is English. Local languages like Zulu and Afrikaans are not supported. For the English language packs, the AI supports Australian, Indian, UK, and US variants. This means that the AI might not be able to interpret the accent of South African English. In fact, when I tried Samsung's transcribe feature for my own voice recording, it not only marked the transcript as having two speakers, but it also misinterpreted most of what I said despite me speaking clearly. 3. Inaccurate results reduce my trust in AI models Megan Ellis / Android Authority Besides inaccurate translations and transcriptions, generative AI can also just outright hallucinate — providing incorrect information even when it understands what you're saying or writing. This isn't limited to AI on my phone. Google's AI Overviews aren't available on my mobile browser (which I prefer), but my experience with the AI-generated search summaries on my PC have soured my experience. There are some of the more well-known errors that Google's AI Overviews feature has made, including telling people to put glue on pizza. These are often attributed to sarcastic responses on training sources like Reddit which the LLM powering the AI can't separate from fact. But there are also times when it makes up information completely. In April, users also found that AI Overviews was making up meanings for made-up phrases. From my own personal experience, I was looking for whether chronic migraines were part of the Prescribed Minimum Benefits for South African medical aids. When I searched the term 'migraines PMB South Africa', Google provided me with a summary claiming the condition has to be covered by medical aids in the country. The reality is they don't. I know this because I read through the lengthy PMB document provided by the Council for Medical Schemes, and confirmed with my neurologist. These types of hallucinations have reduced my trust in AI models in general. When I clicked on the source that AI Overviews provided as a citation, the supposed cited information was nowhere to be found. These types of hallucinations have reduced my trust in AI models in general. I wouldn't trust most of them to transcribe conversations, summarize information, or correctly cite information; so I skip the tools when I can. 4. Gemini feels like a downgrade Megan Ellis / Android Authority When I talk about AI features I adore, Google Assistant used to be one of them. This is because you could use certain commands to set up routines and access certain functions. I still have a daily weather notification that runs on all my phones that I set up in Google Assistant years ago. But if you're using a recent version of Android, you'll have noticed that Google has started pushing Gemini as its Assistant replacement. If you made the switch, like I did, you may be underwhelmed by the functionality that Gemini provides. Commands that used to work with Google Assistant aren't necessarily supported by Gemini. Commands that used to work with Google Assistant aren't necessarily supported by Gemini. Gemini's functionality has expanded since its launch on mobile, but in the beginning I struggled to just get the AI to set a timer. Setting a task or reminder also now requires Workspace integration, which Google Assistant didn't. I've also tried to see if I can recreate my daily weather updates. Setting up the weather notifications on Google Assistant was seamless when I first did it. But when I asked Gemini to 'send me a daily weather update for tomorrow's forecast at 7pm', the AI created a task called 'daily weather update for tomorrow' in Google Tasks and Google Calendar, scheduled for 7pm every day. I also find that queries take longer to process in Gemini. And since some command functionality is no longer supported, instead of executing the function you want it to, Gemini produces a lengthy response based on search results. When I ask Gemini to 'see my routines' or 'see my subscriptions' (the command for editing your daily weather updates), it does a Google search instead. You can still switch back to Google Assistant, but it doesn't work as well as it used to. I've also noticed that the ability to simply hold in the home button to speak a command no longer works, requiring me to say 'Hey Google' every time I want it to register a command rather than a simple Google search. 5. Many AI services are only temporarily free C. Scott Brown / Android Authority Even if I did find generative AI features on my smartphone useful, I wouldn't want to become reliant on them due to the way many companies plan to monetize their AI services. This has already happened with many generative AI chatbots, which limit features based on whether you're on a free plan or not. Some services require you to purchase credits. Even though Galaxy AI is central to Samsung's marketing of its recent flagships, Samsung has noted that these Galaxy AI will remain free until the end of 2025. It hasn't outright stated that it will start charging for Galaxy AI features, but I don't really want to take the chance. I subscribe to Google One because I became reliant on Google Photos while it still had unlimited free uploads. I've seen how apps like IFTTT have cut back on free features. CapCut's heavy-handed monetization strategy made me quit the app. I'd rather not become dependent on free features, only to have them limited in future. I won't pay for AI features, even if that means some tasks will take longer. I'd also rather not become dependent on free features, only to have them limited or have the rug pulled out from under me in the future. I don't think that smartphone companies are going to stop hyping up generative AI features on devices anytime soon. But the implementation of these features and my experience with them have only hardened my skepticism. I want to see some more genuinely useful AI features that actually work for everyday users — not underbaked, over-hyped features that provide inaccurate results or blur reality.
